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Charles Cave

Slow Dive

TonePrint for Flashback Mini Delay

Slow Dive TonePrint by Charles Cave

"Slowdive" is Charles Cave's atmospheric TonePrint that was made for the Flashback Delay. Cave's intent was to create a subtle delay but the result was in fact the opposite. It is a tape delay that adds a long feedback and spreads like an invisible reverb. Cave recommends this TonePrint to be used as a solo effect using the higher pitched bass notes.

Other TonePrints by Charles Cave

About

TC: What kind of sound are you after with the Flashback Delay?
Cave: I don’t really know. Something again that will be subtle. Something that is not going to be too rhythmic because we run into problems with guitars using delays that are set to different rhythms from me. Perhaps something that is more of a swell after the note or maybe something that will extend the note or what I am playing as opposed to actually having a definite repeat, for example. So perhaps one of the modulation settings or even a long feedback but a very low effect level so that it’s doing a lot but you don’t hear it too much. I thought the tape delay setting sounded really good.

TC: When would you use this delay?
Cave: It’s very much of a solo effect. If there was ever a moment when someone else’s instruments were breaking on stage, this is when I would turn this pedal up and calm everyone down; calm the audience, calm the band and keep the show going.

TC: How would you describe this TonePrint?
Cave: It’s not subtle but it’s quite gentle. It doesn’t change the note too much and the repetitions are quite clean. It’s the kind of delay that spreads like an invisible reverb over everything. It’s not a tone you would use on the deeper bass notes but instead it’s better for the higher pitched ones. It’s atmospheric and is something nice for adding a soundtrack-like vibe to a piece of music.

TC: What would you call this TonePrint for the Flashback Delay?
Cave: I’ve named it “Slowdive” because I’ve named it after one of my favorite bands from the late 80s/early 90s and their pretty shoegazy kind of act. They are my favorite from that genre. They actually have some beautiful pop songs.

TC: As a bass player, what kind of bass players have influenced you?
Cave: I think the best thing I can say about the bass players that have influenced me is that I often don’t know their names. They are the kind of bass players that you don’t really notice too much. I love Justin Meldal-Johnsen. When I was learning to play bass, Geezer Butler was my favorite. I loved learning to play Black Sabbath songs and I always like it when there’s a band that have a great riff and the bass player does the same thing. Rex Brown from Pantera is great as well. In recent times, I have got a huge appreciation for Chris Squire from Yes because “Close to the Edge” is one of my favorite albums of all time.

TC: So what is a good bass line to you?
Cave: I think there are different kinds of good bass lines. I think some of the simplest bass lines are good like “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” by Queens of the Stone Age, which is just one note. I think the song “Charmer” by Kings of Leon is one of the best bass lines ever written and I am very very jealous that I didn’t come up with it.

TC: Do you experiment a lot to find new sounds for bass?
Cave: Yea I guess I do. I am not really looking to find new sounds in terms of sounds that no one has made before. I am trying to get my sound as close to the ones I have heard on records and just love. So we have taken a lot of time recently to make sure the clean tones are as good as they possibly can be. I have found that running the signals through really well made effects pedals, even if they are doing very little in terms of the level of them, really helps.